


Happy Holidays

by notaguitarfret



Series: "They're all girlfriends" AU [19]
Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, cw bulimia, everyone being SOFT, that's it that's the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 15:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20641256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notaguitarfret/pseuds/notaguitarfret
Summary: All the Heathers have shit families, so having a happy holiday is kind of difficult.





	Happy Holidays

"Merry Christmas, Veronica!”

When a bright ray of sunshine began to beat down on Veronica’s closed lids, she groaned, covered her eyes with her arm and flipped onto her other side.

“Happy fourth day of Hanukkah, Veronica!”

She felt the blanket being torn away from her, only for her to snatch it back.

“Veronica, it’s noon.”

“I’m  _ tired _ , mom.”

“You’re always tired.”   


“I was out last night.”

“So were we!” Her mother tutted. “But if you want to miss out on presents, then that’s your choice.”

She listened to the two pairs of footsteps leave her room, until they eventually faded out of earshot. It was only then did Veronica blink open her eyes ever so slowly. Her eyes landed on the clock.

Indeed, it was noon.

She slipped out of bed and sludged over to her desk. She didn’t even bother sitting, just quickly picked up a pen and began to scribble in her diary with messy, tired handwriting.

_ Dear diary, _

_ Why do I never learn, after every damn year, that sleeping during the morning just causes headaches and tired eyes? _

Once that was written, she dragged herself downstairs, soon entering the living room that was decorated with two separate colour schemes. On one side of the room, blue, white and silver decorations hung from the windows and walls, and notably the Stars of David clinging to the fireplace. They’d actually been there for a few days now, but Veronica had been out far too often in the past week to appreciate them properly. On the other side was a fairly small Christmas tree, along with some red and green paper chains.

In the middle of the room was her dad, sitting patiently on the couch, watching some adaptation of  _ A Christmas Carol _ that he had flipped to at random.

“Merry Christmas,” she said, hopping over the back of the couch to sit next to him. “When’s lunch?”

“Hungry, I see,” he said. “Not for a while, I’m afraid. But you can open up some presents while you wait.”

He pointed to a pile of presents that had been hiding behind the tree, wrapping paper yellow, red and green. Though exhausted, Veronica was filled with delight, and darted over to begin opening them, though not before her mother came into the room.

She eagerly ripped open each one, forming a pile of presents. She got some new clothes, including some comfy looking socks, make up she would actually use, a couple of new films she wouldn’t have to rent, and some new books.

“Aww, thanks dad!” she said as she pulled them both in for a hug. “And I look forward to getting some more presents later, mom.”

“I was hoping you’d like the bed socks,” her dad said. She nodded.

“I do!”

“And thank you for yours!” her mother added. “We found them by our door this morning.”

“I wasn’t sure where to put them. I was tired.”

“You came home at about six in the morning,” she said. “Where were you, exactly?”

“At Heather’s.”

“I see.” Her mother chuckled. “Well, lunch will be ready in a bit.”

“Thank  _ god _ . I’m really fucking hungry.” She glanced at the door that led back to the stairs. “I’ll be right down.”

“Putting comfy clothes on?” her mother asked as she grabbed a handful of her presents.

“That, and something else,” Veronica replied.

* * *

“Hey, Mara!”

“Hi?” Mara replied, sounding uncertain. “What did you want?”

Veronica lay back on her bed, kicking her legs up in the air. “Oh, just to say Merry Christmas,” she replied. “That is, if you celebrate.” She then shook her head. “Wait, yeah, you do, that’s what Heather said.”

“I guess so,” Mara said. “And thanks, I guess. Merry Christmas to you too. Unless you don’t celebrate?”   


“Well, I’m Jewish on my mom’s side so I celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah.”

“You get  _ two holidays? _ ” she gasped. Veronica chuckled.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Unfair! I hardly get one anymore.”

The corners of her mouth dropped, in spite of the chippy tone that remained in Mara’s voice.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Huh? Yeah. I’m fine.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“Um… sitting on my bed with Foxy and watching a movie,” she said. “I got bored and played with him pretty much all morning, but now he’s sleeping.” She sighed. “He may be a red somali, but even he can be pretty lazy. Maybe he knows it’s Christmas.”

“Maybe,” Veronica chuckled lightly. “What movie are you watching?”

Mara fell silent.

“Promise not to laugh?”

“I promise?” Veronica arched her brow, intrigued.

Heather inhaled deeply.

“...The Care Bears Nutcracker movie.”

Veronica failed to keep in a snort.

“Ronnie!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t expect that!”

“You  _ promised _ .”

“I did,” Veronica sighed. “But in all fairness, you laugh at my friends a lot.”

“I do… okay, I’ll let that one slide.”

“Yay!” Veronica giggled, before a knocking sound interrupted their conversation. “Oh, hold on a sec.”

She sat up and covered the phone with her palm. “Come in,” she called, and on cue her mother walked in.

“Oh, were you on the phone?” she said in a quiet voice. Veronica nodded. “Sorry, I’ll leave you to it in a sec. I was just wondering if you wanted to come and taste test some food?”

“Oooh! I’d love to,” she said excitedly, as well as catching a whiff of something savoury. She glanced at her phone. “Um… I’ll be down in a second?”

“That’s okay!” she said, looking as though she were about to close the door. “Who are you talking to?”   


“Heather.”

Her mother stared at her blankly.

“McNamara.”

“Oh! I see. Is she having a good holiday so far?”

Veronica opened her mouth, about to reply with a habitual ‘yes’, but in remembering why she was calling in the first place, she grimaced.

“Ehh…”

Her mother frowned.

“Oh, poor dear… is she okay?”

“She’s fine, just a… dry Christmas?”  _ As Heather had put it. _

Her mother let out a thoughtful hum.

“If you want to invite her over, you’re welcome to,” she then said with a smile. “If her family allows it, that is.”

Veronica widened her eyes, feeling her body suddenly grow more wide awake at the thought.

“Really?”

“Of course! There’s always extra food anyway,” she said. “Anyway, I’ll get out of your hair.”

As soon as the door closed, Veronica brought the phone back to her ear with an excited grin.

“Mara!”

“Ah!” she yelped in surprise. “Hello again.”

“Hey, would your dad be okay with you coming over?” she asked. “My mom just said you’re allowed to.”

“Huh?” Mara sounded a little taken aback. “I… he literally won’t care, he’s already getting ready to go out drinking.” A pause. “And I would love to come over… but I don’t want to leave Foxy by himself on Christmas, y’know?”

Veronica’s shoulders slumped.

“I get it,” she sighed, disappointed. That is, until her brain willed itself to spark up and idea. “ _ Unless… _ ”

“Unless?”

She grinned giddily. “I’ll be right back. Just wait there.”

“But what are you-”

She didn’t hear the end of her sentence, as at that point she had dropped her phone on the bed, leaped off of it and darted out her room to hurry down the stairs.

“Hey, dad?” she called before she even reached the bottom. “Just… hear me out for a second?”

“What is it, pumpkin?”

She stood at the door frame, smiling at him innocently whilst batting her lashes.

“Okay, look, I  _ know _ you’re allergic to cats and all, but as it’s  _ Christmas _ …”

* * *

“Are you sure he’ll be okay cooped up in Veronica’s room, love?” Veronica’s mother asked as she opened up the door. Veronica glanced back at Mara, who gave a reassuring nod.

“He’s quite calm for a somali,” she said. “They’re usually very playful cats, but he’s mellowed out quite a lot over the years.” She patted her bag. “Still, I brought his favourite toys in case he gets bored.”   


“Jolly good. Just keep them away from Veronica’s father, eh?”

“Will do!”

When she spoke, Foxy let out a little  _ mrow _ , lifting his head up from her arms. Veronica smiled sweetly at him, giving him a little pet on the head before stepping inside.

“ _ Brrr, _ it’s freezing!” Veronica commented just before the door behind her was closed, blocking out the cold winds of the outside world.

“Why didn’t you bring your scarf?” her mother asked. Veronica shrugged.

“I couldn’t find it! I must have misplaced it last night.”

“Were you that tired?”

“I guess so,” she grunted as she led the way up to her room. “Look, I had to walk here at like… half five in the morning.”

“Why?” Heather asked her as she followed her up the stairs.

“I went and stayed at Heather’s for a bit,” she said. “But I couldn’t let her parents see me leave the house, so I had to leave before they got back.”

Mara quickened her pace to walk beside her.   


“You went to Heather’s?” She gave a quizzical look. “On Christmas Eve?”

“Yes?”

“How’d you get away with  _ that _ ?”

“Like I just said. I left before they knew I was even there.” She opened the door to her room. “It’s a good thing I didn’t meet them. For their sake.” She growled to herself, trying to push her conversation with Heather last night to the side.

“Are you okay?” Mara asked, closing the door behind her and releasing Foxy from her arms. He scurried over and rubbed himself against Veronica’s leg, calming her down.

“Of course,” she sighed. “I just had a… talk with Heather last night.” She slumped onto the bed, leaning down to stroke Foxy along his back as it arched into her hand.

“What about?” Mara came to sit next to her, thighs touching.

“Just some stuff…” She bit her lip. “I’m not really one to tell you.” She glanced back at her. “Though, one thing she did mention is to check on you today,” she added with a smile. “It’s why I called you.”

Mara raised her brows, a grateful smile seeping onto her lips.

“I’m guessing she couldn’t do it herself.”

Veronica shook her head. “She’s too caught up with family.”

Mara let out a sigh, her head falling onto Veronica’s shoulder. The feeling was unexpected; she’d hardly noticed it until this very moment, but with everything that had happened in the past couple of weeks, she’d hardly gotten a chance to really  _ be _ with Mara. At all.

And as she rested her head on blonde, messy curls, a realisation hit her.

_ Can I still be with her? Like  _ that?

Dread suddenly weighed down her heart, causing it to sink.

_ Shit. _

“I used to spend ever Christmas with her,” she heard Mara muse, breaking her out of her thoughts. “She’d always come to my house and we’d eat so much candy we’d feel ill.” She sweetly giggled. “I think it was one of those times I started calling her Chandy, actually.”

Veronica snorted.

“ _ Chandy? _ ” she echoed with a laugh. “I don’t remember you ever saying that.”

“I’m  _ sure _ I’ve said that around you!” Mara argued. “Perhaps I was just quiet since she gets all embarrassed when I call her that in public.” She lifted her head up and cackled. “It’s  _ adorable. _ ”

Veronica smiled warmly. “I do love seeing her all embarrassed.”

“And super flushed and irritated?”

“Yeah! Because  _ secretly _ she really likes cute sappy things.”

“She absolutely does.” She gasped. “Did I ever tell you about how she likes pillow forts?”

“Oh, I know.”

Mara blinked.

“Huh? Have I told you already?”

“No, no. She told me last night.” She simpered. “We may or may not have made one.”

Her hazel eyes grew wide with surprise and sparkled with admiration.   


“That’s adorable!” she gasped, smushing her cheeks with her hands. Even with her face squished, Veronica couldn’t help but find her… really cute. “She never builds them with anyone but me!” She smiled. “They’re like little dens. Y’know, hiding away from the world for a while.”

Veronica huffed fondly. “Like hibernating bears.”

“Except we don’t sleep,” Mara said. “We talk for as long as we can while eating all our hoarded snacks, watch some films and then fall asleep by accident.”

Veronica giggled at the concept, finding it very appealing. She’d definitely done a similar thing with Martha and Betty before, only with their own little pillow circle. If only last night had been much lighter, perhaps she would have been able to experience a more fun pillow fort.

“Girls! Dinner!”

The sound of her mother’s voice interrupted her thoughts, but that was by no means a bad thing. The rich smell of Christmas dinner, mixed with Hanukkah food had already hit her nostrils. She grinned.

“Come on, I’m fucking starving.” She grabbed Mara’s hand and pulled her towards her door.

“Oh, wait one second!” Mara slipped out of her grip to go and grab her bag. “I’ll give Foxy a distraction while we’re gone. New environments mixing with a curious breed could lead to ripped bed sheets.” She pulled out a ball that jingled with each movements. “Christmas theme!” she sweetly giggled as she shook it, catching Foxy’s attention immediately. “Go get it, boy.” She rolled it across her room, letting it roll under her bed and come out the other end. A flash of red fur darted right after it eagerly. “He should be entertained. Now let’s go!” She hurried back towards Veronica. “I haven’t had a proper Christmas dinner in years.”

Veronica smiled. “Have you ever had Hanukkah food?”

She shook her head.

“Well, that makes it even more exciting.”

* * *

“So when will the brisket be ready?” Mara asked as they returned to Veronica’s room, both full with Christmas dinner.

“Later in the evening. We’ll be having it around the time we light the menorah.”

“Won’t it be cold by then?”

“It’s slow-cooking, Mara. It’ll be  _ ready _ by then.”

“ _ Oh. _ ” She slumped on the bed and let out a long sigh as she stared up at the ceiling. “I am very full.” She glanced up and saw Foxy had hopped up on the bed next to her and rubbed himself against her head, giving a welcoming purr. “Glad to see you didn’t eat any of Veronica’s belongings.”

“Yeah,  _ me too _ .” Veronica lay right next to Mara, letting Foxy curl up next to her arm. “I’m glad you liked the latkes, though!”

“I did!” She grinned, and right after she spoke, the phone on Veronica’s bed stand began to ring. Veronica groaned, forcing herself back into a sitting position and shuffled along the bed until she could just about grab it.

“Hello?” she spoke, lying on her pillow. Mara crawled over to where she lay and curled up next to her. Veronica somehow managed to compose herself in feeling her warmth pressed against her side.

“Um… hi.”

Veronica raised a brow.   


“Heather?”

Mara’s head shot off the pillow. “Heather managed to escape her family?”

Veronica shook her head.

“No no, other Heather.”

“The fuck,” Duke muttered down the phone. “Why is Emmy with you?”

“Why not?” Veronica shot back.

“Hello Heather!” Mara greeted down the phone, giving a wave she would never be able to see.

“Hi. I tried calling you before and you didn’t pick up.”   


“Well, no. Nobody’s home.”

“I know that  _ now _ .”

Veronica frowned at her disdainful tone.

“Um… Happy Holidays?” she said with uncertainty. “I hope everything is okay?”

“Everything is  _ fine _ ,” she spat. “Maybe not very merry, but it’s…” She heard her faintly sniff. “It’s whatever.”   


Veronica, feeling doubtful, was about to question her further, when Mara leaned over her shoulder towards the phone.

“Heather! Have you ever had Hanukkah food?” she asked cheerfully. “It’s  _ great _ .”

“Don’t even mention food at me right now.”

The idea of interrogating her was thrown out the window in hearing the very likely answer, and she and Mara both swapped a look of understanding. Her heart sank a little in seeing all the glee that had been in Mara’s face not a second ago completely evaporate, replaced with a saddened frown.

“Stop looking at each other like that.”

Veronica snapped her head back to the phone.   


“How’d you- you can’t even see us!”

“I know. I can just tell by the long disappointed silence.”

“We’re not…” She sighed. “We’re not disappointed, Heather.”

“Even if you’re not, I kinda just called just to ruin your day.” She let out a sigh. “This time it wasn’t my fault, though.”

“Mhmm?”

“Look, I just…” Heather sniffed again. “I  _ really _ wasn’t in the mood to eat today, and my parents could have at the very least given me a smaller meal than everyone else, but  _ no _ .” She growled. “They usually give me a small portion anyway because I’m so fucking small! They clearly did it on purpose.”

Hearing her voice break over the phone, so close to her ear but so far away from her was beginning to grow heart-wrenching for Veronica. But she sat and listened.

“And they just… wouldn’t let me not finish. So I kinda had to.” She whimpered. “And I can’t purge. I do that, and I’m fucking dead.”

Next to her, Mara opened her mouth.

“ _ Yes, I know purging leads to death, you don’t need to remind me. _ ”

Her mouth closed and she sank further into the pillow.

“Okay, well,” Veronica picked up the conversation. “Well done for not purging, at least.”

“I’m not doing this out of self love, Veronica, I’m doing this out of fucking fear!” Heather snapped. “And… I’m sorry for throwing this all on you on Christmas day,” she then said, her tone growing softer, more apologetic, “but I just… feel really gross right now and there’s no one in this fucking house who I can talk to distract myself with, so I just-” her voice grew weaker until it finally broke completely, and she let out a sob. “Fuck’s sake,” she mumbled.

The empathy within Veronica stirred, and she bit her lip to hold back any emotions that could make this situation worse. Thankfully, Mara took the phone from her hand to speak.

“What are you doing now?” she asked.

Heather sniffed. “Sitting in my room and staring at Bubblez. He keeps smiling at me.”

Veronica blinked. “You’re staring at your dog?”

“No, that’s Bear,” Mara said. “She said Bubblez.”

“Who?”

“My axolotl. You’ve been in my room before, V, how have you not noticed him?”

“What the hell is an axolotl?”

Mara gasped with dismay. “You mean to say you’ve  _ never _ seen Bubblez?”

“He’s the salamander sitting in the tank in my room!”

“I thought that was a  _ fish _ tank!”

Duke let out an offended gasp. “Just because his name means he’s a walking fish doesn’t mean he  _ is _ one!”

“ _ I didn’t know that- _ ”

“Apologise to him, Veronica, he can clearly hear you!”

“I thought he was in a tank  _ underwater! _ ”

“ _ He can hear you, _ ” Mara said, glaring at her.

“Okay, I’m sorry!”

They both went quiet.

“He forgives you. He’s very benevolent,” Duke said, and though her voice was hoarse, she still let herself let out an amused huff. That is, until the phone picked up on another voice that was nowhere near loud enough for Veronica or Mara to figure out what was being said. “Ugh, one second,” Duke muttered, before moving further away. “ _ What? _ ”

A long pause as the distant voice spoke.

“I wasn’t planning on it!” Duke snapped bitterly. Then another pause. “Well I think I’m gonna be  _ grounded _ wherever I fucking stay!” She moved closer to the phone. “Sorry. I’ll see you later.”

“Oh, um, alright?” Veronica replied. “Wait, what do you mean by that-?”

Before she could finish speaking, a long beep sounded. She sighed and took the phone from Mara to hang it up.

“I hope she’s okay,” Mara murmured. Veronica gave a sympathetic sigh, pulling her a little closer to her.

“She will be, I’m sure,” she reassured her. “She doesn’t take any shit.”

“You’re right,” Mara replied. “Hey, you know  Bear can lift her up?”

Veronica chuckled. “Like, by the mouth, or-?”

“No no, I mean on his back!” Mara giggled. “He could carry her upstairs if he wanted to.”

“That’s really cute!”

“I know! You should see how adorable she looks when she’s curled up on him,” she squealed. “She’s like a tiny cat.”

“I mean… yeah, that’s one way to put it.”

* * *

“Surprise.”

Veronica blinked at Heather, who had literally hung up the phone not fifteen minutes ago, and was now standing at her door in a dark green turtle neck, black leggings, boots and gloves.

“You didn’t even give me a heads up,” she said dryly.

Heather shrugged.

“Well, I could just turn around and go home, but that would mean dealing with my shitty family once more.” She batted her lashes at her. “Surely if your parents are letting Emmy stay here, they have room for one more Heather?” She shuffled forward. “And could you let me in? I’m fucking freezing.”

“I- one sec.” Veronica turned back into her house and yelled, “Mom! Dad! Do you mind if Heather stays over?”

It took them a couple of seconds to reply from the living room.

“Which one are you talking about?”

“Yeah, I thought we already had a Heather here.”

“That’s Heather McNamara, dad,” Veronica said. “Do we have room for another one, is what I’m asking.”

“It’s a big house! She can come in,” her mother replied.

“Thanks!” She turned back to Duke. “Yes, you can come in.” She stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter, to which Heather eagerly did so, her shivers quickly fading when stepping into the warm house.

“I need to lie down,” she grumbled as she kicked her boots off.

“You still feel… ill?” Veronica asked with concern as she closed the door.

“Duh,” Duke said as she trudged along the hallway, making her way over to the stairs.

“Happy holidays, Heather!” she was greeted by her mother, sitting on the couch, as she scuttled through the living room.

“Mhmm. You too,” she muttered, not even sparing her or her father a glance. Veronica grimaced.

“She’s had a bad day,” she whispered to them as she walked past them. They both gave a nod of understanding, to Veronica’s relief, letting her follow Duke upstairs without worrying about her friends offending her parents.

“Heather!” she heard Mara cheer from her room as Duke walked in. “You’re here!”

“Mhmm,” she grunted. Veronica arrived in her room just in time to watch her flop onto the bed, face first, head sinking into the pillow as she groaned into it. She only bothered to look up when Foxy leaped up next to her and brushed over her shoulder. “Oh. Hi.”

“Are you feeling any better?” Veronica asked, sitting on the small space next to Duke.

“I mean… I’m away from my family so I guess so,” she replied, rolling over onto her back. “I still feel… gross.” She grimaced as her hands landed on her stomach.

Mara gave a sigh, letting her hand rest on Duke’s head as her fingers intertwined with her black locks.

“You’ll be okay. Just relax for the next few hours, we’ll try and take your mind off of it!”

Duke gave a disgruntled pout. “You know, I’m not a pet. I don’t need strokes and cuddles to calm me down.”

“Sure, you don’t  _ need _ them, but what’s the harm, right?” Mara said.   


“Also, I call bullshit,” Veronica butted in. “Hey, Mara, you wanna know a secret?”

“Secret?” Mara’s eyes lit up with interest.

“Secret?” Duke shot off the mattress, glaring at Veronica. “V, don’t even fucking think about-”

“Did I ever tell you about that time she cuddled up to me after our disaster date?” she said innocently, batting her lashes at both of them.

“Oh, phew,” Duke let out a sigh of relief. “I thought you were gonna say something else.”

“That isn’t much of a surprise,” Mara added. “You’ve cuddled up to me before too.” She gave her a playful nudge with her elbow, while Duke just looked away in an attempt to hide her flushed cheeks.

“I didn’t feel well,” she mumbled.

“Oh hey, was this while sleeping in the same bed?” Veronica asked with a teasing grin. “Sounds familiar.”   


“I came here to be  _ comforted _ not  _ ridiculed _ ,” Duke grumbled, folding her arms tightly.

“It’s okay to admit you like being held!” Mara said with a smile as she embraced her. She replied with an irritated growl, but made no effort to fight back.

“Aw, let me in the group hug too!” Veronica teased, wrapping her longer limbs around the two of them. Duke gave a snort.   


“You two didn’t fuck before I got here, did you? Because if you did, I’m sitting on the floor.”

The two of them leaned back to glare at her, bith with flushed faces.

“N-no!”

“Of course we didn’t!”

“We haven’t even fucked in my room!” Veronica pursed her lips and looked down at the spot Duke sat in. “Though, Heather and I have.”

“Oh  _ God- _ ” she looked ready to move places, when Veronica laughed.   


“No worries, I changed the sheets!”

“You  _ better _ have.”

“Why? So I can do this?”

Veronica then proceeded to tackle Duke, both of them bouncing on the mattress when they landed. Duke let out a disgruntled squawk, but was unable to escape her grip. She grinned deviously at Mara, who looked at the two of them fondly.

“Hey!” Duke barked as she squirmed in her grip.

“Embrace the cuddles. Pun intended,” Veronica said, pulling her closer. In doing so, she noticed how nice it really was to hold her in her arms. Just a tiny, soft little Heather, cuddled up to her. Or at least, somewhat.

“I feel like I don’t have a choice,” Duke muttered, her body growing limp in her hold. Feeling victorious, Veronica tugged her even closer, resting her chin on her hair.

“I say we cuddle more,” Veronica said. “It actually helped me sleep last time.”

Duke turned her head and lowered her voice into a whisper.

“What, does it take you back to when you were a child or some shit?”

Veronica gave her a playful scowl. “You were a lot sweeter as a kid, and this just reminds me of that.”

“Boo hoo,  _ Voodoo _ .”

With how mocking her voice sounded, Veronica guessed that was supposed to be some sort of taunt. But she could only widely grin.

“Heather! That was adorable!” she giggled as she snuggled against the crook of her neck. “Does this mean I can call you Loo-loo?”

“Wh-  _ no! _ ” she snapped, trying to wriggle away. “Absolutely not! I was  _ joking! _ ”

Despite her disdain, Veronica couldn’t stop laughing at the visible blush on Duke’s round cheeks. Oh, how she wished she’d tried to appreciate moments such as these over these past few months. By no means were they worth forgetting.

“Hey, um-” Mara suddenly spoke up, giving them both a confused look. “What… are you both talking about?”

Both of them froze.

“Nothing,” Duke quickly said. Veronica pursed her lips.

“You wanna know another secret?”

“ _ No she doesn’t- _ ”

“I do!” She beamed, eyes lit up with interest. Veronica chuckled, then looked back at Duke.

“You can’t say no to that face,” she said. Duke sneered at her.

“You planned that.”

That may be true, but the look that Mara gave them when she confessed to their super-secret history, please no one ask about it, she could confidently say it was worth it.

“Oh my gosh!” she gasped. “We can gave  _ teams _ now! Grouped by childhood friends.”

“Teams for what?” Veronica asked.

“Also, I am absolutely  _ not _ letting Heather know I was once associated with the Loser Crew.”

That earned Duke a middle finger, so she threw back a pulled tongue in return.

“They’re not  _ that _ bad,” Mara insisted sheepishly.

“Uh-huh.  _ Sure _ .”

The conversation was distracting to Duke, thank God; Veronica could tell with her usual sarcasm and dry humour returning to her tone and the faintest of smiles peering through her fatigued expression. Any worry she may have felt for her didn’t fade up until their conversation led to more darker places, and somehow, their faces still lit up with amusement.

“You know, it’s only by sheer luck that we weren’t stuck in that stall all night, you know,” Mara said. “I didn’t know when you were gonna wake up, and I wasn’t about to just leave your unconscious body there!”

“Please, I’m sure I was at least a  _ little _ bit conscious,” Duke huffed. “I just needed some waking up.”

“You may still be lying there if I didn’t splash water in your face,” Veronica added. “Great idea on my behalf, by the way.”

She was met with a shove in the arm.

“Yeah, making me think I was drowning for a few good seconds was a  _ great _ way to wake me up.”

“Exactly.”

“I have a phobia of water, dipshit.”

“Well how was  _ I _ supposed to know that?” She rolled her eyes. “Also, it worked, so I don’t know why you’re complaining.”

“I’m not necessarily. I do acknowledge that you helped me wake up, at least. And in return, I dragged your heaving ass into an ambulance.”

“ _ Dragging _ is not the correct word. I’d personally use  _ gently guiding me _ ,” Veronica snarked. “Also, it’s sweet that you remember those silly little lectures I used to give you when we were kids about what to do if I had an asthma attack.” She pinched her cheek. “You remembered, just in case, huh?”

Mara giggled as Duke shook her hand off her face.

“No, I just so  _ happened _ to remember!” she grunted, folding her arms. “And you should be grateful that I did.”

Veronica smiled warmly. “I am.” Her fingers found Duke’s wrist, curling around it tenderly. “Thank you.”

Duke blinked at her in surprise.

“Uh…” She bit her lip, gingerly looking away. “No- no problem.” She cleared her throat and let her black locks fall over her cheeks that were growing a little darker, and for a moment, Veronica had to wonder just what kind of nerve she may have hit.

“Speaking of phobias, did I ever tell you guys about where Heather’s fear of heights came from?”

Mara’s voice broke Veronica out of her thoughts before she even got a chance to indulge, but her opening statement was far too intriguing to ignore.

“Oh,  _ do _ tell,” Duke said, leaning towards her.

“Spill,” Veronica said, also shifting a little closer to the two of them.

“Well, as I’ve mentioned, Heather and I used to spend a lot of time together over Christmas. There was this one trip we went on - I think we may have been ten - where we stayed in a cabin for a week. Super cozy, by the way, loved cabins ever since!”

A fond, fluttery feeling circled around in Veronica’s chest as she listened to her chippy tone.

“And while we were there, we - along with my dad - went skiing. We’ve never been skiing before, so we were just two clueless kids doing the easy courses and all with my dad guiding us through the basics. But eventually Heather got bored of doing the easy stuff, so she started to  _ beg _ to go on a higher hill.”

“Uh-oh,” Duke mumbled. Veronica snickered.

“So after making sure we were okay to do something a little more tricky, my dad led us to a higher part of the mountain - using one of those crates, of course. And, um… I guess he just wasn’t paying attention?” She shrugged. “Because somehow we ended up on the highest fucking hill there was to ski on.”

“Wait, so, like a double-black diamond?”

“Yeah, that!”

Veronica covered her mouth and Duke let out a chortle,

“Oh God, he just took two ten year olds on an expert level course?” she cackled.

“Did you have to walk all the way back down?”

“Not exactly.” Mara grimaced. “The only way down was to ski down. So… I kinda just did. Because that’s what my dad said.” She shrugged. “I didn’t realise I was suppose to wait until someone came to help me make my way down.”

“How the fuck did you not  _ die _ ?” Veronica said.

“I didn’t really last very long on my feet. I don’t know what it was that tripped me up, but I fell over,” she laughed. “Honestly, other than the cold face I got, it was kinda fun sliding down this mountain on my back.”

“Where was Heather in all of this?”

“Just… watching. And screaming, probably. She did just kind of have to watch me fall down this super steep snowy hill and then be told, ‘okay, it’s your turn’.” She held in her giggles. “She told me she had her eyes tightly shut the entire way down, and I believe that since when I met her at the bottom she refused to open them because she was scared she was still on the hill.”

At that point, both Veronica and Duke were on their backs, laughing.

“I mean, poor younger her and all,” Duke said. “But it's also a very creative trauma.”

“Yeah, at least we can laugh at this one,” Veronica muttered, her mind drifting back to last night. She bit her lip, thinking to herself,

_ I hope she’s okay. _

“Um-” she shook off the thought of Heather. “Hey, Mara, you wanna hear about the time Heather got me in trouble for getting locked in a storage closet even though it was  _ her _ who did it?” she shot a side-glare to Duke who held up her hands innocently.

“I was six! I didn’t know it would  _ lock! _ ”

“ _ I got recess taken away from me because of you! _ ”

“I was going to come back for you I  _ swear! _ ”

“Then where  _ were _ you, ya cunt?”

“Martha wanted to show me something! I don’t remember what it was, but I was going to come back for you!”

“ _ You didn’t need to fucking close the door in the first place! _ ”

“You’re seriously still bitter about this?”

“Yeah I  _ am _ .”

Duke sat up and stared her down.

“Then how about I tell Emmy about the time you kicked a load of the soil out the garden in the playground at me, then hid behind a tree when you saw a teacher coming and got  _ me _ in trouble?”

Veronica fell silent, sinking into the pillow guiltily. Heather stared at her smugly.

“That what I  _ thought _ , you sly bitch.”

Meanwhile, Mara just stared at them both, clearly finding amusement in their mini feud.

“You see, whenever Heather and me got in trouble, we’d be in it together,” she said softly. “So clearly we have a stronger bond than you two.”

“That goes without saying. This bitch left me in middle school,” Duke said as she pointed to Veronica, who gaped at her.

“We’ve been over this! I thought you left  _ us _ for  _ them _ ,” she said, pointing at Mara.

“Please. She didn’t even  _ like _ me at first,” Duke huffed. Veronica paused, looking at the innocent blonde with surprise.

“I didn’t  _ dislike _ you, I just…” Mara sheepishly smiled. “...Didn’t want you around.”

“Uh-huh.” Duke gave her a look.

“Okay, let me explain,” Mara quickly said in seeing Veronica’s befuddled expression. “I don’t like change! For  _ years _ it had just been Heather and I, you know? We were best friends!” She looked at Heather. “But then on the first day of middle school - which was already  _ awful _ for me, by the way - Heather just… picked this one up.” She patted Duke on the head. “And suddenly our usual duo turned into a trio, and I didn’t want that! I wanted everything to go back to how it used to be.”

“She made this known to me, by the way,” Duke clarified. “She specifically said to me,  _ ‘I’m Heather’s best friend, not you, so why’d you have to come along and ruin everything? Everything was perfect before you came around.’ _ ”

Veronica stared at Mara, stunned by the cruelty of her eleven-year-old’s words.

“I-” Mara twiddled her thumbs. “Heather yelled at me for saying that later.”

“Congrats, Heather, you made Heather Chandler completely justified in doing something.”

“I still feel guilty!” Mara protested. “And it was  _ years _ ago, and I profusely apologised! I didn’t even mean that much offense.”

“How was  _ that _ not supposed to cause offense?”   


“I’m not good at picking up how much my words affect other people, okay?” She then grabbed hold of Duke and pulled her in for an apologetic embrace. “We’re best friends now! We put all of that behind us a  _ long _ time ago.” She glanced down at her. “You forgave me, right?”

Duke, with her hands clutching the arm around her chest and face flushed ever so slightly, rolled her eyes. “Obviously. It may have caused me great insecurity about my place in this friendship group for a long time, but I’ve put it behind me.”

“I’m glad. I promise it wasn’t actually to do with you, it was to do with me not wanting anything to change,” Mara said.

“I hope both of you know that Heather was a better friend to me than either of you back then. I hope that’s embarrassing for the two of you.”

“It is,” they both said in unison.

“Good,” she laughed, before their conversation continued to shift. This time it was Veronica’s turn to tell yet another story, one about her own experience in middle school that none of the Heathers would have been aware of.

As she spoke, their positions on her bed shifted around a lot. Originally it was Duke sitting in the middle, but when she left to go to the bathroom, she and Mara shuffled up next to each other. Veronica came up with the excuse of, “I felt a draft,” but it was shot down with a,

“You’re just nice to cuddle.”

And Veronica couldn’t deny that Mara was indeed  _ very _ lovely to snuggle up against. She was always so warm and her hair was curly and soft, like a feathery pillow to rest your head on as she rested her own on her shoulder. But the worry about her current relationship status with her prevented her from going all the way, all the way being letting her sit on her lap with her chin on her head and her arms around her waist, keeping her close.

At the very least, such a position not happening  _ did _ lead to another pleasant, comfortable one. When Duke returned from her bathroom trip, she at first sat next to Mara. But gradually, as she told a story about the Heathers at some party during junior year and panicking when they saw cop lights outside since they were underage drinking and breaking a poor neighbour’s fence during their not-so-sneaky escape from the house, she somehow ended up lying across the two of them, head resting on Veronica’s lap.

It was at that moment when she looked down at the tiny girl’s face with her black curls swirling around her round jawline, small nose and green eyes that brightened as she spoke with a sense of enthusiasm that was but a rare treat from being her friend, that she had a realisation.

She wasted  _ so much goddamn time _ being bitter towards her. She could have spent the past few months gazing into her eyes as she would rant or laugh or joke and finding so much amusing snark or joy that made her chest flutter with penchant. God, why did she throw away all those opportunities when she could have been… been…

_ I don’t know, _ she mused.  _ Just… with her. _

Her eyes flit to Mara.

_ And I want to be with her. So much more than I already am. _ She could’ve rolled her eyes at herself.  _ Call me greedy, because I see her almost every day. _

Her head slowly turned towards her window.

_ And call me selfish, because I don’t want that sun to set. _ Maybe it was her fault for waking up so late, but the sun was  _ already _ disappearing behind the trees and houses. Look, it’s not  _ her _ fault for wanting to spend the night with Chandler. Or for being reluctant to leave, and whispering to her how she didn’t want to go before she walked out that door.

_ Call me ungrateful, but I want her  _ here. _ With me. Right now. I want all three of them, is that too much to ask? _

“V?”

She snapped her head towards Duke, realising she had been completely lost in her thoughts.

“Huh?”

“You looked like you left the Earth for like five minutes,” Duke said.

“Oh, sorry, I’m…” she blinked slowly. “Tired.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Mara asked.

“Oh, yeah.” Veronica smiled and nodded. “I feel… really great. Thank you.” She looked between the two of them. “What about you guys?”

“Huh?” they both asked.

“Do you both feel okay?”

They glanced at each other, then looked back at her.

“I haven’t had a Christmas quite as good as this in a long time,” Mara said sweetly. “So I feel great.”

“I… feel a lot better now,” Duke murmured, sinking into her shoulders a little. “I honestly forgot about this morning.”

Veronica felt her heart swell with glee.

“I’m… really glad to hear that.” She then looked up, her eyes landing on her TV. “Say, it’s getting late, and mom’s gonna call me down to light the menorah in maybe an hour or so. You guys wanna watch a film? Or I can get my gameboy out.”

“I’d say yes, but I’m comfy,” Duke said, weighing herself down on the two of them.

“We can get comfy again,” Veronica said, just as an idea popped into mind. “Oh! Idea,” she added, grinning at them both. “Have you guys ever made a pillow circle?”

* * *

“Thanks, mom!” Veronica said as she was handed a black coffee with a topping of whipped cream.

“Yeah, thank you,” Mara added as she took a sip of the hot cocoa she’d been given.

“It’s no problem!” she said with a smile. “You three look very comfortable,” she pointed out, looking at their layout. Veronica, just before they had been called down before for some brisket, had created a nest-like comfort zone, with her mattress on the floor and as many pillows and cushions as she could find placed around the edges, and of course, a load of blankets on top the duvet. It was placed right next to her bed on the floor, made so they’d be facing the TV as well as having more room than her bed had to offer.

“Veronica’s idea,” Duke grunted, not looking up from the gameboy in her hands. “ _ Shit, _ ” she hissed. Veronica looked over, seeing that she had died in her game of Mario.

“Well, I’ll leave you three to it,” her mother said, turning around. “Oh, Veronica?”

“Mhmm?”

“I don’t know if your friends appreciate you leaving your clothes on the floor,” she muttered, tossing her a pair of boxers and some socks over to her.

“I had to unpack my draws to get these blankets!” she said.

“Make sure to clean them at some point!”

“I will!” she called with exasperation, hearing the door shut as her mother left.

“Oh, those are yours?” Mara asked, nodding to her boxers.

“Well, yeah. Boxers are comfy,” she replied.

“No, I imagine they suck,” Duke mumbled, side-eyeing them. Veronica huffed.

“Okay, so they’re not for everyone,” she sighed, tossing them on her bed.

“They  _ should _ be for David Bowie,” Mara said. “The baggy ones, I mean. One that won’t show a  _ bulge _ .” She gestured to the TV, where the film  _ Labyrinth _ was playing.

“You make a very good point.” She turned to Duke. “Hey, Heather?”

“Mhmm?”

“You remind me of the babe.”

“Veronica, no.”   


“The babe with the power.”

“ _ No _ .”

“The  _ power of voodoo- _ ”

A pillow collided with her face.   


“ _ Stop reminding me of those dumb nicknames. _ ”

Veronica and Mara could only laugh, paying no attention to the TV in favour of rolling about on the mattress with their tired, loopy brains. Or maybe it was an excuse for them to bump into each other on the mattress and remain lying there, surrounded by blankets, pillows and each other. And to add to the little nest of warmth, Duke ended up curling up against Veronica’s side, leaving her sandwiched between two tiny Heathers. The perfect blanket, if she did say so herself.

So perfect, in fact, that she was able to lay still, not even once wanting to flip over onto another part of her body as their conversation aimlessly moved on.

“There  _ is _ something about Heather that I’m not allowed to share,” Mara said as she drew random shapes on Veronica’s thigh. “So I’m afraid I can’t actually tell you without her killing me, and we just got over an argument, so…”

“Oh come on, you can’t tease us like that!” Duke whined, pouting at her.

Veronica nodded. “ _ Please,  _ Mara? I wanna know where her nickname for you came from!”

She glanced at them both, shrinking back a little, before sighing.

“Heather used to have a lisp,” she murmured. “Tho the’d talk ju-th-t like thi-th, and would pronoun-th my name a-th ‘McNamawa’. Since she couldn’t say it, she shortened it down to just ‘Mac’, and it stuck.”

Duke let out a cackle, while Veronica let out a giddy squeal. “That’s adorable!”

“That’s fucking  _ rich _ ,” Duke chortled. “Oh, that explains why her tongue slips so much when she’s drunk.”

“Yeah, that happens.”

Busy with picturing Chandler speaking with a lisp, Veronica was staring off elsewhere as the two Heathers conversed about their friend, which led to her eyes falling on something hitting her window. She paused, raising a brow, and would have brushed it off to remain seated in her spot had it not happened again. And then again.

“Um… one second.”

“Hm?”

She ignored their confusion and hurried over to the window. It was dark out, just not dark enough for stars, but at least her porch light was on. If it weren’t she may have not seen the figure in her backyard, looking up at her impatiently. She let out a gasp when she locked eyes with her.

“I’ll be right back!” she announced quickly, before dashing out the room, down the stairs and off to her back door.

“Heather!” she exclaimed as soon as the sliding door was open. She darted over to her, not giving her a chance to respond before she leaped onto her, wrapping her arms around her.

“Surprise,” she said dryly. Veronica blinked at her, parting from their hug. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought you were too busy with family to even answer the phone.”

Heather shrugged. “I was. But that only applies when we’re trying to pretend we’re a big happy family. Not when they bring the bottles of wine out.” She huffed. “They think I’m sleeping in my room right now. You better fucking appreciate the fact that I climbed out the window to see you.”

Veronica stupidly smiled. “You overcame your fear of heights to see me? You’re a natural flatterer.” She eyed her up and down. “Hey-  _ that’s _ where my scarf was!” She picked up the scarf wrapped around her neck.

“What’s the problem? You gave it to me.”   


“To  _ borrow _ . You don’t even like that scarf.”

Heather bit the inside of her cheek, looking away sheepishly.

“It got me through the day,” she mumbled. “Now will you let me in? I’m cold.”

Veronica glanced at the door. “Why did you come to my backyard?”

“The gate was open.” Heather pointed to the path down the side of her house.

“You could have knocked.”

“Your parents would have seen me. I imagine they’re not accepting visitors of any sort.”

Veronica chuckled. “You know I have two visitors here already, right?” She pointed to her room. “I’ve been hanging out with Heather and Heather all day.”

Heather blinked at her in surprise.

“But I only brought  _ your _ present! And then forgot it in the car.”

“No worries, we can actually plan out some sort of present giving at some point. But for now…” She cupped her cold face. “Having you is enough.”

Heather rolled her eyes. “You’re such a pillowca-”

She was cut off with a soft, welcoming kiss, one that Veronica felt her melt into, with how her hands found her hips and pulled her closer, and how she let out these adorable, almost relieved sighs through her nose.

Though, as much as Veronica would have loved to hold her against her lips for much longer, her cheeks were ever so cold. She broke it off and took hold of her hand.

“Come on, you’re freezing.”

With that, Veronica pulled Heather into the house, feeling the warmth hit her once again, and once the door behind her was shut and she yelled to her parents, “Hey, Heather’s here!” to which they replied,

“Uh- oh, um, okay!”

Once she returned to her room, she said,

“Look what I found in my garden.”

Heather and Heather and Foxy poked their heads around the bed, with Foxy dashing over to Heather, loudly purring.

“Oh, didn’t expect you to be here,” Chandler said, picking Foxy up.

“Heather!” Mara gasped, scrambling onto her feet and running over to embrace her. Chandler let out a surprised squeak, stiffening slightly.

“Mhmm, hi, Mac,” she said, eventually relaxing.

“Welcome to Vewonica Thawyer’th houthe, Heather,” Duke called from where she sat. Chandler paused, not moving when Mara released her, other than her arms which parted to let Foxy leap down.

“I’m  _ sorry? _ ”

“Heather,  _ why would you do that! _ ” Mara barked.

“Oh, was that supposed to be a secret?”   


“ _ Yes! _ ” She turned back to Chandler, gingerly gaze up at her. “Look, we were discussing nicknames and-”

“ _ Heather! _ ”

“Fuck.”

Mara raced off, heavy footsteps sounding throughout the house, with Chandler’s following her ferociously.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Veronica asked as she settled next to Duke.

“Please. Emmy could snap Chandler like a twig.”

“You know she isn’t that much of a twig, right?” Veronica said. “I feel like that more applies to me.”

More clunking could be heard, and Mara came running into the room again with Chandler close behind. She fell forward, onto the mattress, where Chandler pinned her down. The chase ended with Chandler sitting on Mara’s back, one leg folded over the other and arms crossed.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry!” Mara said, doing her best to look up.

“ _ Are _ you?” Chandler scowled at her. “Now Heather’s going to make fun of me for the next six months at  _ least! _ ”

“You bet I am,” Duke said.

“I know. It was our little secret and I am sorry.”

“You could’ve told them about the time I shoplifted instead,” she grumbled.

“I’m somehow not surprised,” Duke said.

“Oh? Crimes?” Veronica asked, leaning forward with intrigue.

“She was like… seven,” Mara said. “I was sad, so she stole some mini dinosaur figurines from a supermarket. I still have them in my room.”

“That’s great. I respect that,” Veronica said with a chuckle.

“Thanks. It’s one of my proudest moments,” Chandler said. “You wanna know about the time Mac played with vomit-sand?”

“Played with  _ what? _ ”

“Heather!” Mara protested.

“I’m making it even,” she said. “On the playground, someone vomited. So the teachers put some sand over it, but Mac didn’t realise that’s why the sand was there. She was just excited to play with the sand.”

Veronica covered her mouth and gagged., while Duke laughed.

“Okay, you’re forgiven now,” Chandler said, slipping off of Mara and crawling over to Veronica’s side, arm latching onto hers. 

“How’d you escape your family?” Duke then asked Chandler, while Mara scrambled up and shuffled back over to a space between Duke and Veronica.

“How’d  _ you _ escape your family?” Chandler shot back.

“Walked out the front door.”

“Climbed through the window.”

“Well, points for effort,” Duke said.

“Especially since, y’know, heights.” Veronica patted her on the head, while subtle pulling her a little closer, so  _ thankful _ that she was pressed against her side. “Mara told us about the origins of that too.”   


“What is this, share my life story night?” Chandler grumbled.

“Maybe your life is interesting to talk about,” Mara said, making her let out a fond huff.

“Flattering,” she murmured. “Which story did you tell them about? The skii one or the ferris wheel one?”

“ _ Oh my God I forgot about the ferris wheel, _ ” Duke cackled, falling onto Mac’s lap.

“I  _ wish _ I could forget,” Chandler muttered.

“Me too. I still feel bad.”

“What’s the ferris wheel one?” Veronica asked, finding an excuse to look at Chandler intently.

“Well, back in middle school, do you remember when a fair came to Sherwood?”

“Vaguely.”

“Well, us three went on the ferris wheel, and though Mac was  _ insisting _ I don’t because she knew I didn’t like heights, I told her, nah, it’s fine.”

“You only said that out of pride,” Mara pointed out.

“Either way, we went on the ride, and of fucking  _ course _ our seat stops right at the top.”

“You were shitting yourself!” Duke snickered. Chandler just scowled and threw a pillow at her face to silence her for a brief moment.

“I would have been  _ fine _ if it weren’t for  _ Mac _ .”

“What did she do?” Veronica gazed at her curiously.

“You ever notice how she rocks back and forth on chairs?” Chandler said. “She did that, but on a fucking  _ ferris wheel? _ ”

“I didn’t notice myself doing it!”

“I  _ know _ but we were gonna fall  _ out _ of that thing!”

“No we weren’t!”

“Okay, so long story short,” Duke said, placing a hand on Veronica’s thigh. “Heather will never ride a ferris wheel again.”

“You bet your ass I fucking won’t.”

As Veronica listened to the three of them banter with each other, with two pressed against her sides and one lying across Mara’s lap, as well as feeling Foxy curl up against her leg, and couldn’t help but give thanks to whatever may have caused such bliss.

“I don’t slip up  _ that _ much,” Chandler muttered, her fingers finding Veronica’s to interlock with.

“You sort of do,” Mara said. “It’s kind of cute.”

“ _ No it’s not, _ ” Chandler hissed, hiding her flushed face with her hand. Veronica snickered, pushing her hand away to plant a kiss on her cheek, which only got her to flush more.

“It kinda is,” she said with a smile. Chandler gave a disgruntled huff, but didn’t argue.

“It’s cute you clearly haven’t brushed your damn hair today,” she muttered. “What, couldn’t even clean yourself up before inviting us over?”

“I only invited  _ Mara _ over,” Veronica shot back. “You two invited  _ yourselves _ .”

“Is that a problem?” Chandler asked, a playful glint in her gaze. Veronica grinned.

“Not at all,” she murmured, edging closer and closer to her, the space between their lips shrinking, when-

“So were either of you gonna tell us you’re a thing now, or were you gonna let us find that out on our own?”

The two of them looked back over to Duke, who gazed at them with a raised brow and a somewhat surprised look on her face, along with Mara, who also had widened eyes. Chandler furrowed her brow.

“Wh- how the fuck did you guess tha-”

“You couldn’t have made it more obvious. As if we’ve ever seen you act so  _ soft _ around anyone.”

“I’m not  _ soft- _ ”

“With me you are,” Veronica said smugly, picking her chin up to plant a satisfying kiss on her lips. Chandler gave a grunt, but seemed eager enough to return the kiss.

“It’s about fucking time!” Mara said happily, a big smile on her face. “How did it go down? I wanna know!”

Veronica opened her mouth to respond, wanting more than anything to gush about her new partner to her… other friend with benefits?  _ Former friend with benefits? _ But she stopped herself in realising that to answer her question truthfully, she would likely let the context slip. She took a moment to try and think up a response, but luckily Chandler did the job for her.

“Dunno, last night we just went for a walk, I invited her over and we ended the night in a relationship.” She shrugged. “Any more questions?”

“Who made the first move?” Mara leaned forward, seeming to be very interested. It made Veronica question any feelings she thought she may have harboured towards her; she wasn’t about to deny she herself had a crush on her. That was obvious. Only… it had been different with her than it was with Chandler since feelings seemed to be far more likely to be reciprocated.

Don’t get her wrong, she was happy she wasn’t  _ sad _ about this, but the idea of Mara not having any feels for her to begin with was… disappointing.

That thought was dismissed very quickly. She should be celebrating what she gained, not what she lost.

_ Alright, how about I worry about what happened last night instead? _ She side-glanced at Chandler.  _ She’s… clearly reluctant to tell them. _ Dread began to churn in her stomach.  _ Is she going to open up about it at all? Is that  _ healthy?  _ Does she trust them with that? _

She took a deep breath.

_ I’ll talk to her about it. _ She glanced at Heather and Heather.  _ When they’re out of earshot. _

Unlucky for her, though, since none of them were moving any time soon other than bathroom breaks. Except, it wasn’t really bad luck as she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t comfortable. Clearly everyone else thought the same, since after some time of chit-chat that gradually faded, everyone’s eyes closed.

Apart from hers. As usual.

She knew the moon would have been in the sky by now, or at least some stars would be out. And here she was, with three Heathers lying against her (one of them across - Duke was again, using her thighs as extra pillows, along with Mara’s).

In hearing the light snores from Heather and Heather, Veronica could tell that they were most likely fast asleep. But just to make sure…

“Heather?”

Ginger hair on her shoulder moved. Black and blonde didn’t.

“Hm?”

“Hey.”

“What is it?” She picked her head up off her shoulder.

“I… just wanted to ask you something.”

Chandler rolled her eyes. “Is this about Mac? Yes, you can still do whatever with her. I don’t care.”

“No, I was- wait, really?” Veronica blinked in surprise.

“I told her that the other night. I forgot to tell you.”

She tilted her head. “Even now? Especially since you were-”

“No, don’t say I was jealous.” She placed a finger on her lips. “I wasn’t. I was just…” She looked away, looking embarrassed. Veronica leaned forward a little.

“You were…?”

“...I was scared you weren’t interested in me, is all,” she grumbled. Veronica snickered, cupping her face.

“I’m glad you know that’s not true,” she murmured, pecking her on the nose. Chandler gave an adorable pout. “And… thank you. That’s really thoughtful of you.”

She just rolled her eyes again. “It’s whatever. Now what did you actually want to ask me?”

“Oh! Right, um…” Her teeth scraped her bottom lip. “I was just wondering… are you gonna tell Heather and Heather about… y’know.” She made a gesture to refer to the previous night. “Just because I think-”

“Veronica.”

She shut her mouth at her stern tone Her gaze was held by glassy eyes.

“I came here to  _ not _ think about all of that. I couldn’t get any of it out of my head the entire day. It’s near impossible whenever I’m forced to spend time with my parents.” Her tone grew low and serious. “And I don’t want to spend these last few hours of Christmas day thinking about it either.”

Veronica went quiet, slowly nodding in understanding.

“Sorry,” she murmured. Heather sighed.

“I  _ will _ tell them, Veronica,” she said. “I’ve been wanting to for a long time. Ever since the night it happened. But I always saw no point after what my parents told me, you know?”

Veronica offered a sympathetic gaze, squeezing her hand tightly.

“But I… you gave me a bit of hope.” The corner of her mouth quirked up for a moment, before her expression turned back to serious. “But tonight isn’t the night I want to tell them. I don’t want to be so  _ bothered _ by that night, okay?” Nails dug into her thigh. “Just let me spend a night with you, and nothing more.”

Veronica smiled at her warmly. “Of course.” She slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “I’m really glad you were rebellious enough to come here.”

“My parents won’t notice my absence, it’s fine,” she said, head resting on her chin.

“I feel like that should be sad, but I’m oddly glad they won’t if it means you can be with me.”

Heather laughed as she snuggled up against her.

“Yeah, me too.”

They fell silent, Veronica closing her eyes as she listened to Heather’s soft breaths brush over her neck, a smile creeping onto her face as time went by.

“Happy holidays, Heather,” she murmured to her after a while. It took a moment before Heather responded.

“...Happy holidays, ‘Ronica,” she whispered. “And thank you.”

“Thank me? For what?”

Heather nuzzled further into her neck.

“For making it happy.”

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy the fluff while you can this is still the tbarc after all
> 
> and yes that ski story is inspired by that one jaidenanimations video
> 
> anyways, if you like my fics, please leave kudos and comments !! they're much appreciated and motivate me to keep writing
> 
> https://heathersgameoftag.tumblr.com/


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